I think their ratings system is sort of silly in general, but I was sort of surprised to see that "A" on the back of the back cover, instead of a "T+" ("Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they may want to read before or with younger children") or "Parental Advisory" ("15+ years old similar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery. Recommended for teen and adult readers"). I can't imagine Loeb and Cho were thinking about nine-year-old readers when doing that locker room scene at the top of this post, for example. (And man, what the fuck is up with Spider-Woman's gesture in that last panel? Is she stifling a laugh, or eating an invisible banana, or...?)
"I think their ratings system is sort of silly in general"
ReplyDeleteWhy is that? As a parent, I find them very useful. I wish DC did something similar. As it is, if it isn't Johnny DC, then the kids don't read it.
I agree with you, though, that they are way off the mark with this rating. Oy.
DEFINITELY eating an invisible banana.
ReplyDeleteStay classy Marvel.
ReplyDeleteI think having Frank Cho's name on the cover precludes the need for specific ratings. You can pretty much expect T and A.
ReplyDelete"A" because of Loeb´s writing?
ReplyDeletei read/saw way worse (or rather much better! wink!) comic book material (and movies...and cartoons, etc...) featuring more violence and partial nudity than this as a kid and turned out just fine.
ReplyDeleteto our adult eyes, we see all the "naughty bits" but most kids are just gonna see "WOW! HULK SMASH!!"
and when they get to that age of realizing what the "naughty bits" are they're gonna go on the hunt for stuff way more scandalous than this.
Looks like one of the panels you8 posted inspired a whole thread on The Beat.
ReplyDeletehttp://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/11/12/welcome-to-the-brokeback-pose/